Among the players in first round action at the 2021 WTA Gdynia Open are Valeriya Olyanovskaya, and Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine. Olyanovskaya will face Anna Bondar of Hungary, whilst Kozlova will face American Katie Volynets. Get the live streaming options for these matches along with Federica Di Sarra v Irina Bara and Kateryna Bondarenko v Weronika Falkowska.
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Valeriya Olyanovskaya v Anna Bondar Preview
Valeriya Olyanovskaya, ranked at a career-high 678th in the world faces the Hungarian qualifier Anna Bondar in what will be the first meeting of any kind between these two players.
Olyanovskaya is a 20-year-old Russian who has never tasted tour-level grind in her short career. Her major highlight was winning the Antalya ITF in January 2020. She doesn’t have an interesting junior career, but that does not necessarily mean her senior career will follow the same itinerary.
Opponent Anna Bondar successfully navigated her way into the main draw after edging out Conny Perrin and Marina Melnikova in the qualifiers. Bondar has played herself into some form on clay after reaching back-to-back quarterfinals at the Haag ITF and most recently in Bastad.
Not only is there a huge gulf in rankings between these two players, but Bondar looks the more assured to get the win here. She has acclimatized herself with court conditions in Poland and will be playing an opponent who hasn’t been in action for three weeks.
Olyanovskaya v Bondar Tip
Bondar to win AND under 19.5 games: 6/4 (bet365)
Kateryna Kozlova v Katie Volynets Preview
Kateryna Kozlova only earned her place in the main draw in Gdynia courtesy of Polona Hercog’s withdrawal before the tournament. While her scheduled first-round opponent Katie Volynets received a wild card. These two players have no previous history between them.
Kozlova is a former World No. 62 who memorably shocked Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the French Open in her title defense in 2018. But she has seen her stock fall sharply in recent seasons due to a succession of inuries and inconsistency.
The Ukrainian has dropped outisde the top 100 as a result, and has found it increasingly difficult to resurrect her career. But she comes into this contest in decent form after reaching her first WTA quarterfinal in two years in Budapest, losing to eventual champion Yulia Putintseva in three sets.
Katie Volynets was among a cohort of players born in 2001 who reached the Wimbledon main draw last month. She had earlier won the Bonita Springs ITF, held in the US.
Volynets is certainly demonstrating a higher level of maturity than what her current ranking or age suggests. But the more accomplished Kozlova looks a firm favorite to progress here.
Kozlova v Volynets Tip
Kozlova to win: 8/15 (bet365)
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Federica Di Sarra v Irina Bara Preview
Irina Bara, seeded 10th, will play Italian qualifier Federica Di Sarra in the first round in Gdynia. The 31-year-old veteran was victorious in their only previous meeting between these two players at the Italian Team Championship in 2017.
Bara is targeting to crack the top 100 for the first time and she is not far off. The Romanian is sitting at No. 119 in the rankings thanks in part to her strong showings on the ITF circuit. She reached the final on the clay of Bonita Springs, losing to Katie Volynets.
Federico Di Sarra is another name plying her trade on the ITF tour. The Italian has produced some eyecatching runs on clay this season on that circuit, which includes a terrific win over Berlin champion Ludmilla Samsonova at the Grado ITF last month.
This should be close contest as both players have a strong affinity towards clay. While Bara is the higher-ranked player, Di Sarra has defied the odds in both qualifying matches to reach the main draw. We reckon the Italian can keep up this form and eke out another upset.
Di Sarra v Bara Tip
Di Sarra to win: 11/5 (bet365)
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Kateryna Bondarenko v Weronika Falkowska Preview
Sometimes you just cannot make up the luck of the draw. And Kateryna Bondarenko should be in fine spirits ahead of her first-round match on Monday against a familiar opponent.
Bondarenko and Weronika Falkowska played in the final round of qualifying in Gdynia on Sunday. And it was the powerful Ukrainian who ran out a 6-3 7-6 winner over the talented 21-year-old Pole.
But Falkowska got a second bite of the cherry to impress on her home tournament, entering the main draw as a lucky loser.
It will be interesting to see whether Bondarenko will try to adjust what she did so well on Sunday, or the young Pole will employ different tactics.
With that said, we should expect this match to tread the same line and cover the games market.
Bondarenko v Falkowska Tip
Over 21.5 games: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 Nottingham Open will be played from June 6-13. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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